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ArchBang Linux 2012.05 released, new versions to be quarterly

The ArchBang 2012.05 desktop
Source: ArchBang
The developers at the ArchBang project have announced the arrival of a new version of their Linux distribution. Based on the Arch Linux rolling release distribution, ArchBang is described as a simple and lightweight system aimed at Linux users who want to customise it to suit their needs. Unlike Arch Linux, ArchBang uses the minimalistic Openbox window manager with support for its pseudo-tiling functions.

The release, labelled 2012.05, is the project's first release in six months and adds support for Broadcom wireless cards as well as Mobile Broadband modems in the Network Manager. For those wanting to try out ArchBang using VirtualBox, the virtualbox-archlinux-additions are now included by default. The Shotwell photo manager and the tint2 panel/taskbar are among the new packages, while the zathura document viewer has been replaced with ePDFView. Other changes include a new QDarkStudio4 GTK theme and improvements to the Conky system monitor for X.

At the same time, the developers said that, following the appointment of a new Project Leader, the project will now be publishing a new version of the distribution each quarter "to provide users with more regularly updated versions"; earlier this year, the project had previously announced plans to have two releases per year, one in June and another in December. Additionally, they say that they "may release unofficial updates between official releases to prevent excessive workarounds in installing and updating newly installed systems".